Thursday, August 03, 2006

More War News

Bad day here in Israel... Eight civilians killed in rocket attacks on the North, and another three soldiers killed in the fighting in Lebanon.

The reason for the heavy toll of casualties (dozens of people injured, some quite badly), is that many people got tired of staying in shelters/with their relatives. I guess they're be going back soon enough, but... this can't go on for much longer.

One of the commenters here, Jad, asked how can it be that after three weeks of fighting the Hezbulla's rockets firing abilities seem unfazed. Well, hardly surprising really. We are dealing with thousands of launchers, carefully hidden in woods and among buildings. And here's the surprising part... you're not going to like it, but there are many voices here in the Israeli public calling for Israel to finally pull its weight and "really" bomb South Lebanon...

I guess this takes some explaining. You see, the Qana village incident isn't the norm. Generally speaking, when the IDF knows that there are civilians in a building they avoid firing at it. Yes, I realize that close to 1000 Lebanese have been killed, but considering the amount of explosives the IDF dropped on Lebanon this isn't that high a number. Some people here feel that our attempt at maintaining moral standards is bogging us down and preventing us from winning this war. That burning down Southern Lebanon (the word Naplam comes up a lot in talkbacks) is the only solution to stopping them from shooting at us.

Now, before I get jumped on, let me make it very clear that I do not support this view. I don't think anything justifies knowingly hurting civilians. Ever. I do see that we have a problem here, but my view is that we have to stick to conventional fighting, i.e. use our troops (at a higher price in terms of casualties for our military) to gradually take over the South of Lebanon and uproot Hezbulla out of there. However, this is going to take time... maybe a long time too.

The only other way I can see of ending this sooner (and with fewer casualties on both sides), is for the international community to step in and actively intervene, including sending in military forces (I'm talking NATO forces, not just UN peacekeepers or observers), which would really take over and establish a demilitarized zone in the south. Not seeing any chance of that happening any time soon though. Sigh, I guess the fighting will continue.

7 comments:

I can confidently say that if the IDF does really "bomb" south lebanon (napalm and such stuff), be sure that in the mind of many people, including me, you will become much worse than terrorists (and I'm using a euphemism here).I think the very second the IDF implements this strategy, it's the same second that Israel signs its defeat (not necessarily militarily).

Don't worry, I was mainly conveying what people are saying on "the street" (sort of the equivalent of the term when used in the Arab context).

Such a policy, if even suggested seriously, will be a political issue. The IDF will probably the major obstacle in implementation, as, in my view, soliders and officers are required to disobey such an order (being an illegal order).

Out of curiosity I am asking myself that have I seen any winner in any war in past 20 years? Particularly in the middle-east. You know I could be some one who was born on that border and now I could be in this conflict. I can’t sleep when I think of it that way. It’s horrifying to be in a position that you have no power over what’s happening around you. I like to be a child again so I could draw a picture of all the people with no guns. I’ve just started donating money to red-cross to make myself feel better and I was feeling even sadder that how it is gonna reach those who needs it the most. I guess it is upon all of us to make it to Lebanon and Israel and just protest there and say NO to what’s happening now.

Janjo, your sentiments are important that way. We will always need more and more people to think that way. In our own way, even by posting here, we are accomplishing at least something. Annette obviously is as happy about this war as you and I. Which is not happy. Her effort to reach out is a good, good thing, to me. While we seriously debate issues in here, some of us, including me, learn. I have learned much about Lebanon and their perspective on the war. Maybe you can learn about the US a little and their own nest of vipers and maybe their essential good hearts, through me. And we can also learn what goes through the wife of a soldier and an independent citizen of Israel by listening to Annette. This is not a bad thing, as long as we try and learn the truth. I like your heart, Janjo.

War has changed its nature over the past few decades. It's just as ugly as before, but different. I think the professional term is LIC - Low Intensity Conflict (at least it used to be that about a decade ago, when I took my courses in university).

What is means, basically, is longer term conflicts lasting over decades where no side is able to reach a decisive victory. It's happening all over the world. Part of it is actually the move away from brutal massive destruction. Attempting to destroy your enemy's country and people is no longer acceptable. You end up with low-intensity, long term conflicts that flare up into episodes of acute fighting, then scale down to LIC. This is what we have with the Palestinians and with the Hezbulla. So, in that respect no wars have been "won" by any side over the past 20 years, you are correct there.

I think though, that to many Israelis, the fact that we are still here and prospering, is victory in its own right. Would have been more complete with a peace treaty with our neighbors of course :)

As a Canadian watching what is going on in the Middle East, I hope and pray for a peaceful solution. I agree with Israel's stand that they must push back Hezbolla in order for them to maintain safe existance in the north of Israel.